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Progress
Sunday, March 24, 2002
THE BUSINESSES: LINDA TARR FOR THE OLYMPIAN
DUPONT -- This started out as a company town, and in many ways that's still true -- albeit with more companies than one dominating the landscape.
For the small business owner, such a strong employer base, with big names like Intel Corp., State Farm Insurance, and the Better Business Bureau for Oregon and Western Washington, makes for brisk business.
Take the Big Town Hero Deli, for example.
The deli, owned by Mike Phillips, an Oregon resident, actually followed State Farm from Salem, Ore., after the insurance company opened its regional headquarters in DuPont.
"They just kind of started it because of State Farm," said manager Samantha Hannum, one of the deli's original employees in DuPont, adding that loyal customers who followed State Farm to Washington from Salem urged Phillips to set up shop after seeing the dearth of restaurants in DuPont.
Christopher Carlson, a public affairs specialist for State Farm, said the deli remains popular among employees there.
"Every time I've been there I've recognized someone from over here," said Carlson, who heard about the deli from fellow employees, but was not one of the customers who urged the deli to branch out from Oregon.
Close to work
Before the deli opened in October 2000, many State Farm employees would drive to a Steilacoom sandwich shop. In addition to the drive, they'd face long lines after arriving, cutting down on the time left to eat, Carlson said.
"It was nice to have a sandwich shop, a little more choice," he said of the new deli's arrival.
Carlson said he enjoys the deli's bread and the different sandwich size options -- including 6-inch, 8-inch and 12-inch submarine sandwiches.
Both State Farm and the Big Town Hero Deli are located in DuPont's Barksdale Station development.
The deli also is near Intel.
Chad Willwerth, an Intel software engineer, said he goes to the deli once or twice a week.
For Willwerth, the shop's convenience is the key factor.
He said before the deli opened Intel workers often drove to Tillicum or Hawks Prairie to find something to eat.
He also enjoys the benefits that go along with being a regular customer -- "They know me by name when I place my order" -- and said the portions served are more than adequate to fill him up. For $5, including a drink, Willwerth said he's usually stuffed.
Familiar faces
Hannum said the shop's eight employees also enjoy their relationship with their customers.
"We've got a lot of regular customers, and we're all really friendly here," she said.
"I like working here. We have a lot of customers who come in on a first-name basis, ask for the usual. ... Some we get really good at, and we see them walking by the window and start making their sandwich."
But deli employees, whose starting pay is the $6.72 minimum wage, start preparing for customers long before they come into sight, she said.
The deli is busiest between 11 a.m., when it opens to the public, and 1 p.m., when the lunch rush slows. The baker, however, steps through the door at 6 a.m. It takes her about five hours to make the bread, which is baked fresh daily.
The store's two managers arrive about 9 a.m. and begin slicing meats, making soups and preparing specialty items like fajitas and meatballs. They also tend to daily chores.
Then, when doors open, "it's nonstop," Hannum said.
After the lunch rush, employees have time to clean up before the dinner crowd arrives. Customer volumes in the evening are variable, but seldom reach the level seen at lunchtime, she said.
"It's really random. Sometimes we have this huge dinner rush, and sometimes we don't have that many people," Hannum said.
Jim Caldwell, who does contract electronic work at Fort Lewis, is another loyal customer who contributes to the lunch rush, eating at the deli almost daily during the work week.
Along with Intel and State Farm, Fort Lewis employees make up a large part of the deli's loyal customer base, Hannum said.
Like Willwerth, Caldwell cited convenience as the factor that originally brought him in the door. And the shop is convenient to him in more ways than one.
On Mondays, Caldwell usually prepays for his lunches for the entire week, something the larger chains don't let customers do, he said. Perks like that keep him coming back.
"It's kind of hard to screw up a sandwich, but the people who work there are pretty nice," he said.
Even when new restaurants open in the planned DuPont Station development, Caldwell predicts he'll continue eating at the Big Town Hero Deli.
"I'd keep going there because I know the people that are there," he said.
The deli has faced some problems, including employee turnover and finding workers for the lunch shift, when they're most needed, as opposed to the evening shift, which people tend to apply for, Hannum said.
From a customer perspective, long lines and lack of parking also hurt the deli at first, Willwerth added.
"They had problems with the parking lot being too full, and customers were driven away because there was no place to park," he said.
That problem, largely due to people using the lot for park-and-ride purposes, has cleared up, he added.
Despite the challenges, and the frantic lunchtime pace, Hannum said she loves her job, which she originally took to help pay for college.
Her favorite part is making friends with her customers.
"I really like the customers," she said. "They know me by name and say, 'Hey Sam.' "
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